Good to soft tourism season reported

Between the Wine, Brew & BBQ, Rubber Duck Race, Hill City Quilt and Fiber Art Show and Sale, Holy Terror Days, Plein Air Paint Out and Black Hills Film Festival, the summer fun in Hill City and Keystone has been stretched out through the end of September. 

Now as fall weather sweeps in, many are reflecting on how the 2023 tourism season went.

“The tourism season has been a strong one here in Hill City. It varies for everyone and weather impacts various businesses differently,” said Janet Wetovick-Bily, executive director of the Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce. “Thanks to our many signature and monthly events, our experience here at the chamber and visitor center is that our businesses have seen good traffic and good sales which again varies by business.” 

Throughout the peak season and into October, the chamber welcomed nearly 50 buses with 1,850 or more travelers “delighted” to be in Hill City. 

“They tell our step-on greeter, Sue Anderson, that they wish they had more time to stay, dine, shop and explore. The value and dollars these day trip buses bring to Hill City can be safely estimated as anywhere from $1,000 to $2,415 per bus depending on which figures are used,” said Wetovick-Bily. 

This does not include buses that did not notify the chamber, that stopped on a day trip or that stayed overnight. 

Meanwhile, Robin Pladson, Keystone Chamber of Commerce director, said that although the spring was unusually slow, Keystone is slightly up this summer and fall from last year. She attributed this to the lack of construction going on in or around Keystone. 

Businesses as well as chambers also reported seeing more international visitors this year. This included people from countries like Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and Switzerland. Pladson saw more multigenerational families, families with pets and ladies groups as well. 

Lisa Schaffer owner of the Red Garter Saloon in Keystone said, “The whole season has been good to us.” 

Going into the season, Schaffer said, “The economy was a big concern. We weren’t sure people would travel and spend money.”

However, she said everything went smoothly this year including the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. 

According to the South Dakota Department of Transportation, rally numbers were down 8.1 percent this year from the five year average with a total of 458,161 vehicles. 

Nevertheless, Mike Gallucci owner of Things That Rick in Hill City said, “Rally’s actually really good to us. We had a great rally.” 

Every year the store has a jewelry sale during the rally. Gallucci said they have built a clientele that comes back year after year to shop the sale. 

Although it seemed like numbers were down overall from last year, Gallucci said, “It was definitely still a very good year.”

He attributed this to having a good team and the fact that they were able to maintain pre-inflation prices for the most part. 

A few doors down, April Purdie, general manager of Turtle Town said, “It was a really good summer, and we were not expecting it to be. We were kind of expecting things to go back down to like 2019 numbers, and that ended up not happening.” 

Instead, Purdie said Turtle Town was busier than projected and averaged 10 to 12 percent above for the summer. 

At the 1880 Train, business operations manager Nate Anderson said numbers were a little soft this year, possibly due to the rainy spring and rainy rally week. 

“But we think it’s kind of back to normal after Covid and on a steady trajectory for us,” said Anderson. 

Otherwise, Anderson said the 1880 Train had a steady season with good staffing levels. 

“We’re gearing up for our Oktober Fest Train here in a week or two, and then we’ll gear up for our Holiday Express Trains at Christmas time,” said Anderson. “I feel like we’re finishing strong.”

Over at Jon Crane Gallery & Custom Framing, owner Lori Nonnast said, the season “went very well for us. It was a little up from last year so we felt very blessed. It looked like we had a lot of new people this year over last year.” 

Nonnast originally assumed numbers would be less than the Covid years, but that was not the case for the gallery. Instead, September is turning out to be one of the best Septembers Nonnast has ever had. 

“I do believe that we increased in visitors who are also buyers,” said Nonnast. To her, there seems to be fewer outdoor enthusiasts and more people looking to purchase things for their homes. 

According to Katlyn Svendsen, the senior director, global public relations and content services at Travel South Dakota, “Overall, year-to-date travel indicators show a healthy uptick in visitor spending with a dip in visitation.”

However, not everyone experienced this. Stevie Cummins, owner of Jewel of the West, said, “We had tons of traffic. I don’t think there were as many buyers as last year, but we stay so busy with our virtual stuff that it kind of helps us stay steady.” 

Still, there were lots of buyers, and Cummins said she could not complain about the season. She attributed the success of the season to the variety and selection Hill City has, saying, “I feel like we have really great shopping and a great variety to offer to tourists.”

“In terms of hotel demand,” Svendsen said, “June was South Dakota's strongest month, increasing year-over-year room demand by 2.4 percent. In fact, South Dakota came in as the fourth best performing state in the country in terms of average occupancy for that month.” 

Cassie Zeimet, general manager of Comfort Inn & Suites in Keystone agreed that the season went well. 

“We had a pretty darn good season. I can’t complain,” said Zeimet. “It was very comparable to last year.”

Meanwhile, Dan McNamara, owner of the Harney Peak Inn, said “We had another very good year. No downturn at all for us.” 

Going into the season, McNamara said he was confident because there were a lot of pre-bookings. He also said, “We built a super strong reputation, and we get a lot of return guests. We keep our property up very well, and we get a lot of walk-ins that like the way it looks.” 

“The whole season was a highlight,” said McNamara. “It’s just nice to see the same people come back every year. You take care of them; they’ll take care of you.” 

Now in the shoulder season, crowds are still coming through Hill City. In fact, Wetovick-Bily said September visitor numbers are ahead of August with vehicles from a variety of states lining Main Street. She attributed this to the businesses, restaurants and lodging partners as well as the appealing look of the community. 

Pladson also said that Keystone is continuing to have the same level of travelers coming through. She said she is “looking forward to having an excellent October with The Haunting and supporting businesses with their doors open and welcoming our visitors and can’t wait to share the Keystone Chamber collaboration of events with our businesses into the 2024 Tourist Season.”